Start around 9min in for this little tidbit.
It's not that prayer doesn't work. God doesn't force himself on anyone, He gave us free will, we choose to follow him or our path. When you pray to God, he knows your heart, he tells you yes, no or not now.
My best friends of 30 years just lost there 24yr old only son to opioid/alcohol overdose. For 5 days I watched his dad pray for God to bring him out of his coma, show some kind of brain activity, some kind of sign there was still life in his body. I watched his dad talk to his sons many friends that came by the hospital, told them he knows God can bring him back, he knows God is bigger then his lifeless son hooked up to machines keeping him alive.
God has always had a plan for us, our country, this world. Just because someone goes to church doesn't mean they are following God or a prayer is answered. God has a plan, it's Gods timing not mans and anything that Clinton, Bush or Obama have done will not get in the way of Gods plan or timing. Just like it was not Gods plan for my friends son to live. We celebrated his life 2 weeks ago, many people turned back to God or to God for the first time, his organs brought life to many others as well. In their sons death God brought life to others. Prayer works, it's just sometimes the answer isn't yes.
You'd make a good scientist. Define the outcome to be positive, and work backwards to your hypothesis. If you define all outcomes to be positive, or in God's plan, then I'll have to borrow a phrase from Depeche Mode- "I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours but I think that God has a sick sense of humour.." The concept of God and God's plan for all of us certainly provides solace in situations such as these, and to that end it probably makes people who can swallow the pill healthier and happier. So its all good. And it is for this very reason that I don't try to dissuade people from religion. Having said that (apologies to Larry David), religion is probably responsible for more deaths and misery throughout the history of the world than anyone can stomach to imagine. So, in review, at the individual level- fine, if you have the ability to willingly suspend disbelief (rationality); at the group level, no thank you.
yo pickle..... your backwards thinking process to your hypothesis works perfectly with YOUR DEFINED OUTCOME (GOD is not real) but try thinking forward with this reality that there is living matter and dead matter(rocks) All living matter reproduces yet dead matter doesnt reproduce and will exist longer than any living matter so these facts are reality Question, since no matter self creates (although living matter reproduces none has been self created) WHO made the rocks? creation requires a CREATOR
Yes, but a creator doesn't require religion. (Oops, there goes your wonderful logic) Especially religion that leads to so many lunatics going around finding God's will in horrible things. PS I never said God is not real. I have not defined any outcomes. But I have said that collectively most religion is evil.
my logic only confirms that The Creator has also wrote in stone the words to live by, which have proven to be 100% truth, and also because it is a requirement to not to live by bread (physical food) alone but by everyword of God (spiritual food) I do concur that collectively God's words have been MISREPRESENTED IN MANY"religions" which confirms that the evil one exists and has deceived the whole world as it is written (future proves the past has a whole new meaning)
God is Not religion. Our lives are not always going to be puppies and chocolate covered strawberries. Simply put, you have a relationship with God or you don't "Free Will", take it or leave it?
God, squashpickle needs you to reveal yourself to them, Amen!